


Vengeful Courage

by Cradger



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Death, Four Swords, Ocarina of Time, Possibly disturbing scenes, Some Link to the Past, Twilight Princess, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-05-31 15:46:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6476311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cradger/pseuds/Cradger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An average day at the secondary school in Castleton is about to be turned upside down. The infamous serial killer, Ganondorf is known for his mad mutterings about a little known and long-forgotten legend: The Triforce. A weight of destiny which school boy Link doesn't understand must be fulfilled, no matter what. With his friends by his side, this time, this Link won't be alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Rainy Morning

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the first few chapters like... four years ago. I've edited it a bit just now so hopefully it's not so cringy!  
> Enjoy!

Students ran into the school grounds, the hoods of their jackets up and in some cases their bags held over their heads to shield them from the downpour.  
The bell went and teenagers flocked into different buildings, laughing about their sodden hair and bustling to various form rooms. Stragglers picked their way through growing puddles and whispered curses as the second bell went- they were late.   
Soon, the small paved streets between the buildings of the secondary school were deserted; the heavy rain drops colliding with the ground the only sound that stirred the sense of temporary calm.  
The sound of whirring bike wheels then the soft screech of a brake joined the chorus of the typical school morning. An orange bike slipped neatly into one of the racks against the wall of the maths block. A boy jumped off, scooping his brown satchel over his shoulders and fastening a chain lock around the front wheel of his steed. He patted the saddle and set off at a run, pinching the long green hood of the jacket stuffed under his blazer over his head so that it wouldn't blow off.  
His scuffed brown shoes splashed through the puddles as he sprinted to the big building to the north of the school grounds, soaking the bottoms of his trouser legs and splattering mud up the insides.  
Finally he made it to the long, linear building and slammed into the side door, pulling it roughly open and sprinting down the corridor beyond. Panting, he made it to his classroom. He took a deep breath. The heavy door creaked open and the form inside fell silent as the student emerged shyly into the room.  
"Uh…" He cleared his throat under the chilling glare of his tutor, "Sorry I'm late, Mr. Deku."  
The old man shook his head, causing his frizzy moustache to bounce, "That is the third time this week and it's Wednesday." He sounded rather apologetic considering his stern posture.  
"I'm sorry, sir." The boy replied after giving a burly boy with a red pompadour a glare when he started to point at him and snigger, "I-I guess I just slept in."  
"Hmph." Mr. Deku bowed his head slightly, "One more time and I am afraid that it will have to be a detention."  
"Yes, sir." He looked down at his feet and walked over to the tables to find his seat. With a sigh, he sank into it, dropping his bag next to him and giving a little cough. He hoped he wasn't getting a cold. Though his arrival apparently hadn't bothered his best friend.  
"Hey." Vio mumbled, not looking up from the book he was reading, pushing his square, simple glasses up his nose.  
"Hey." He took off his hood, revealing his scruffy, dirty blonde hair as the register started to be called out. He looked at his friend through bright blue eyes, smiling slightly.  
Vio looked weirdly like him. He was one of quadruplets and had light blonde hair and blue eyes, which were always rimmed by the black edges of his glasses. He was the genius of their group, the top of almost every class.  
Looking around at the rest of his table, he scanned the group which consisted of the rest of his friends, those which were in his form of course.  
There was Red - the excitable, innocent and sometimes quite dim, but always loyal and brilliant one; his best friend aside from Vio. He was also one of the quadruplets, so if it wasn't for his messy hair and red bracelet, he could have been mistaken. Next to him was sat Saria, the pretty and funny one of the gang, her dark brown, curly hair with green highlights framing a smooth, round face, her eyes as green as the highlights.  
"Malon?" Mr. Deku called out.  
"Yes!" An excitable girl with long red hair chimed.  
"Groose?"  
"Yes!" The boy with the pompadour grunted.  
"Vio?"  
"Yes, sir." Vio replied in monotone, still not looking up from his book.  
"Red?"  
"Yep!" Red said bouncily.  
"And Link?"  
"Yes, sir."  
"Please take the hoodie off when you're in class, Link."   
Link nodded and took it off, accidently hitting Vio in the face with his hand, "Oops." He winced as Vio recoiled, "Sorry."  
"It's fine." His studious friend said hurriedly, but he looked at Link for the first time and tutted, "Were you up all night AGAIN?"  
"How did you know?" Link muttered, bowing his head self-consciously.  
"It's obvious!" Vio sighed, "Your eyes give it away."  
"Aaaw!" Saria exclaimed jokingly, "Have you been looking into his eyes?"  
"Oh, shut up." Link rolled his eyes, though laughing, "Anyway," He turned back to Vio, "It doesn't matter when I'm getting to sleep."  
"Of course it does! It can affect your education!"  
Link ran a hand through his scruffy blonde hair; this was just typical Vio, "Well maybe I look tired because of something else."  
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me, Link!" Vio slammed his book shut, grabbing the attention of most around him as that didn't happen often. He lowered his voice, "That dream AGAIN?"  
"Well, yeah. You don't believe me?"  
"Of course I do! It's just-" His friend looked around to check that no one was listening in then leant in closer, lowering his voice even further, "People'll think you're mad! Honestly, something that… Supernatural? Most people will just look at you weirdly!"  
"Thanks." Link locked his fingers together on the table in front of him.  
"That's not what _I_   think! You know that the first person to believe anything you say would be me!"  
Link hesitated, then looked back up at Vio, a smile creasing his lips slightly, "I guess."  
"Exactly!" Vio nodded, looking triumphant, "Anyway, what really matters is if you've got your maths homework."  
"Uhhh..." Link gritted his teeth, "Oops."  
"Oh, Link." Vio rolled his eyes, opening his book again. It seemed the matter was closed.  
"There was MATHS homework?!" Red panicked. "Oh no!"  
"At least I'm not the only one…" Link muttered to himself as Vio started to explain the sheet hurriedly to them.  
"Honestly, guys!" Vio huffed, "This is your third day in year nine and you're already forgetting homework!"  
"I'm sorry. I'm just not the homework type!" Link sniggered.  
"Well, welcome to Hyrule Secondary!"


	2. The Girl with the Giggle

Finally, after a horrid, droning lecture about school uniform and the lunch time chess club, the bell rang and the form burst eagerly out of the classroom.  
The hallway was no better. A sea of bustling students flooded the corridor, making what would ideally be a simple walk a right pain. Literally.  
Red pushed ahead, clearing the way for the rest of the group.  
"What is it now?" Link called to Vio, who was following close behind his brother.  
"Maths!" He shouted back, gaining a torrent of groans from the others.  
"Great!" Saria huffed, shrinking past a burly year eleven, "What a brilliant way to get us engaged for the rest of this BRILLIANT day!"  
"Yeah." Link automatically caught the green girl's shoulder strap as she was dragged away by another wave of students and pulled her back.  
Soon, they had reached the door along from their form room and dived into it, sighing in relief as they stopped to catch their breath.  
"I highly recommend that you sit down before I keep you four back at break; you are already late."  
The four of them looked up at their maths teacher, a tall woman with short, bright white, almost blue hair who always wore purple and blue splashed on an A-line skirt.  
"Yes, Miss Fi." Vio answered for the group and they walked to their seats.  
The bad thing about maths was that they had a seating plan and Miss Fi was a dead boring teacher. The only good thing was that Link had Vio to sit next to and to copy work off of.  
So the lesson began,  
"As you can see there is a 56% chance of this door being open." The teacher pointed at a cheesy illustration of a door on the board, "Therefore, there is a 44% chance of it being shut."  
"Ugh." Link groaned, assuming the usual position and leaning his forehead in his hands, "A baby could figure this out!" He muttered so that only Vio could hear.  
"Now." Miss Fi carried on, "Try this: Please work out the percentage of people who visit the theme park in one week and how many people stay in the hotel. Also display your workings and not only the percentage, but the fraction and decimal, too."  
"What?" Was the resounding reaction from much of the class as they looked at the new slide. A novel of numbers and symbols was up, making most students almost loose their jaws.  
About a quarter of the way through the lesson, Link had given up and stared out the window, twiddling his pen between his fingers and his eyelids drooping every now and then.   
He found himself in the main hall.  
It was quiet. Too quiet. The stage stood like a gaping mouth, the inside shadowed eerily. A man cackled lightly and Link turned to see a tall man with red hair, his eyes the same colour, and a long nose.  
He rose his hand and a light shone from behind. Upon turning back, Link saw a golden triangle with an upside down one hollowing out the middle. The light got too much and it started to blind him. He rose up his arms to shield himself from it-  
He awoke with a gasp as a hand closed over his shoulder. Link looked to his left to see Vio, who was frowning at him.  
"Come on, the bell's just gone." His friend said, still with a furrowed brow.  
"Right." Link blinked away his bleariness and stood up, snatching up his bag and games kit and closing his exercise book.

It was games next, which was a relief for him.  
Link had a knack for cricket. Apparently his hand-eye coordination was pretty good and he was alright with a bat. He had to be good at something at least.  
They had a female teacher who was extremely tall, strong and scary, who always had markings on her face which her students could never work out if they were made of make-up or were tattoos. They were never obscured by her white hair that she scraped back in two short pigtails which bounced whenever she barked orders. Mrs Impa.  
"COME ON!" She bellowed to the boys as they ambled out of the changing rooms, "GET A BAT AND LET'S GO!"  
This normally sped things up a bit. Link, Vio and Red all ran for the bat bucket, grabbing their normal equipment. They each had a preferred bat. Vio and Red both had the same make, a sleek one with a purple handle on Vio's and a red for Red's.  
Link however, preferred the old worn one, which had been carved from tarnished, hardened wood. He had used that cricket bat ever since his first lesson and it had served him well.  
"RIGHT!" Mrs. Impa yelled as soon as they had got onto the astro-turf, the whole class falling silent, "TODAY I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME PRACTISING IN THREES! DO THE ROTATION GAME! REMEMBER IT? RIGHT, LET'S GO!"  
Link, Red and Vio all teamed up and started to bowl to each other and bat on turns.  
A few minutes into this activity, the girls started to walk onto the field for athletics. Link gave them a fleeting look and readied his bat, but then he took a double take. It was her.  
A girl with long blonde hair which fell to her waist even when it was tied up was chatting animatedly with her friend, a girl from another class called Ruto. She looked around for a tiny, wonderful and terrible moment. She was beautiful, rosy cheeked and always smiling, not to mention intelligent. Yes, yes, very intelligent. But then, for the first time, their blue eyes met. Zelda.  
"Oi, dreamer boy!"  
Link yelled in shock as a cricket ball as hard as a rock hurtled into his forehead. He staggered sideways stupidly and fell over. Ow. Looking up, he rubbed the bruise, blushing uncontrollably. She was giggling. He grinned awkwardly, laughing nervously to cover up his own embarrassment and scratching the back of his head with a hand.  
"Woa!" Vio ran over, laughing his head off, "Sorry, mate! I DID warn you!" He held out a hand and Link took it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.  
"Don't worry about it." Link smiled. He had made Zelda laugh. That made him happy.

That lunch time, Link walked out of the canteen balancing a pasta pot, a bottle of water and his two bags in his arms, using his chin to steady them. Only just making it to the table, he placed his lunch down and swung the bags under it, sitting next to Vio and facing Green and Blue for the first time that day.  
"Hey, Link!" Green's face was red, as if he had been laughing hard, "Vio was just telling us about the cricket thing!"  
"Oh, that." Link said through a mouthful of pasta and swallowed it, chuckling and looking down at the pot.  
"Yeah, made a right fool of yourself in front of Zelda, sounds like!" Blue exclaimed, slapping the table as he wheezed into his food.  
"I don't know. She was laughing." Link shrugged.  
"Ha! Look, she's the hottest babe here, mate! You think she'd fall for guys like us? Hmph." Blue shook his head, pointing his thumb over his shoulder, "She'd probably go with guys like them, knowing her." He was pointing to Groose and his cronies.  
"She doesn't seem like the kind of girl to be going out with thugs like them."  
"Trust me, mate."  
Link sighed, "Ah, we sound like a bunch of girls, gossiping about her! What about the athletics tournament, yesterday, Green, how'd it go?"  
"It went pretty well. I came fifth in the long distance."  
"Wow!" The table gasped in awe of their friend.    


	3. Unexpected Tears

It was finally the end of the day. They all poured out of the geography classroom, moaning about how Mr. Gaebora had made the lesson the most boring it could have possibly been, making them all sit there in silence, copying from a text book for the full hour.  
Link lived in a small village to the south of Castleton, where the school was, called Ordon. It was a pretty village, situated in the middle of a small forest. Most of the houses there were cosy, beamed, old cottages, making the tiny community feel welcoming.  
Link was the only one out of his friends to live here, whilst the others all lived in estates in Castleton. He didn't mind, though it cold get pretty lonely sometimes. 

The light breeze ruffled Link's hood as he rode back home from school, the weather now brightening up a little from that morning.  
Birds chirruped happily as he pedalled into the woods along the narrow road, a satisfied smile on his face as he shouted in greeting to the old man mowing the lawn of the outermost house. He almost stopped to say hello to the horses, but he was hungry so he decided to go home first. 

He turned onto the drive of a tall, extremely old and beautiful cottage, built into the roots of a massive tree. This sweet little village seemed like a whole world away from the busy town of Castleton.  
Link dropped off his bike in the shed and ran round to the front door, letting himself in.  
"Mum!" He called as he closed the door behind him, "I'm home!" He walked past a mantelpiece sporting an array of frames, all holding pictures of the smiling family of three, most of them with the father in his military uniform.  
He walked through to the cloakroom and hung up his bag and coat, flicking down his hood and frowning as there was no answer, "Mum? Oh yeah!" He remembered, digging deep into his school bag and withdrawing a crumpled letter, "We got given a letter today about some festival thing in Clockton, I don't know about it though." Link carried on as he walked through to the small living room, skimming over the yellow letter, "Seems like it's more for little... kids..." He had looked up at the place where his Mum normally sat when he came home from school, watching the TV.  
She was there, alright. However, she was limp, her hand hanging over the sofa's arm and a deep red trickle dripping off her index finger.  
"Mum?" Link grinned, thinking at first that this must be a joke, you know where they spray ketchup everywhere just to freak someone out. She didn't stir and his smile faded, "Hey!" He walked briskly around to the other side of the sofa to look at her fully. He wished he hadn't.  
A deep stab wound was embedded in her chest, above a few more that sprinkled her stomach and her eyes were closed, as if she could just be asleep. Blood dribbled down her chin and stained her long brown hair which was strewn about her like a brunette halo.  
"Mum?" He said weakly. The letter dropped from his hands. He gasped, running to the phone and picking it up with shaking hands. He dialled into it, "Nine... Nine... Nine!" He stood there, his mind numb, not quite sure what he had just seen, still convincing himself that this was all a well staged joke, the phone held up to his ear. Finally, someone answered,  
"Hello there, this is the Castleton police station, how may I help you?"  
"Mum!" He said, his voice shaking as much as his grip, "Mum! She- She- She's been stabbed!" And as he said it, it started to sink in and his mouth seemed to dry up, "Mum's been stabbed." He repeated, "She's gone. PLEASE JUST COME!" He bellowed down the phone, "THE TREEHOUSE, DEKU DRIVE, ORDON!"  
"Okay, kid, we're coming. Just take deep breaths and calm down. We'll be there soon." And he hung up.  
Link did as he said and took deep, long breaths, steadying himself then looking over his shoulder at his mother. He couldn't help it.  
He ran towards her, throwing himself to his knees and wrapping his arms around her limp body. It was still warm. His school clothes were soon stained red by his mother's blood but he didn't care. He wanted to cling on to her. Forever.  
Soon, police sirens could be heard coming ever closer and the sound of a door springing open followed.  
A hand slipped onto his shoulder and he looked up into a burly officer's face, "Come on, lad. Come outside for a moment. This is no place for you to be right now."  
Link let himself be taken whilst forensic detectives filed in.  
Once outside, he leant his back against the wall and slid down it, burying his face in his hands. It had all happened so quickly. He had never had a chance to say goodbye and yet the tears would not flow, they would not show themselves when he longed for their company. It was simply too much emotion to ball up into such a petty thing as tears.  
"Well," Said a young lady and Link looked up, "We have analysed the wounds and it is an easy conclusion. This is a very common pattern of the murderer who we believe calls himself... Ganondorf. He even goes as far as to call himself a lord. He is frankly completely mad and has been heard to mumble to himself about a thing called a "triforce". I am deeply sorry for your loss." She sounded robotic, like this was all pre-recorded. How many times had she seen this before?   
Link looked down and said in a small voice, "It's not your fault."

The next day, students rushed to their forms as the bell went, just as they had the day before.  
Vio had assumed his normal position, bending over a massive book as if it was the be all and end all.  
As the second bell went, Vio looked round at the empty seat next to him and sighed, "Late again. Honestly, what is he up to?"  
"Probably left the house without his school bag again." Saria joked.  
The door creaked open and shut.  
Link walked in, head down, face doused in the shadow of his hood.  
"Link, you are late again." Mr. Deku said, "I am sorry, but it has to be a detention."  
"Right." Link said quietly, his face still shaded. He sat down next to Vio and continued to look down at the table, not taking his hood off.  
"Link, please-"  
"Take my hoodie off. I know." Link removed it slowly. When the hood was drawn back, it was to reveal heavy, glossed eyes. The corners of his mouth seemed to be pulled downward by hooks.   
"Link?" Vio said cautiously, "What's the matter?"  
His friend remained silent, bowing his head more than it already was.  
Vio could have sworn that a tear had just fallen onto the table, "Mate... Are you sure?" He had never seen Link cry before, so this was discerning to say the least.  
"I-" And NOW the tears came, in the middle of class, in front of everyone. Brilliant, he thought in bitter sarcasm. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he scrunched up his eyes, willing himself to stop.  
"What happened?" Vio said softly as the others stared at the crying boy, stunned.  
Link threw his arms around Vio's shoulders, hugging him, a boy seeking a true friend's comfort. A sob fell through his lips and tears splashed onto Vio's blazer.  
"M-Mum. Sh-she..."  
Red gasped, "Vio! That story on the news this morning! The stabbing in Ordon!"  
Link felt Vio almost jump out of his seat in disbelief, "Link!" He gasped, "Was your mum the one who was..."  
Link nodded slowly, clinging onto his best friend and letting another sob rack his body.  
The table fell silent, the rest of the form not noticing a thing.


	4. Rumours

The news spread like a forest fire.  
Within the next two days, _everybody_  knew about the stabbing in Ordon.  
The quadruplets' parents had said (more like demanded) that Link was to live at theirs, at least until his father came back from the front-line. However, his mood had not improved in the slightest. He hadn't spoken once since the morning after his discovery and his eyes had not yet regained their usual glint.  
Students always gossiped and pointed when he passed in the corridors and always seemed a little scared of him. Either that, or they were convinced that he had become a mute.  
This carried on for another week. Link could see that it was hurting his friends to see him like this, but at that moment, he had lost all care and love.  
Finally, one lunch, their pained and pitying expressions all got too much.  
Link walked out of the canteen with his usual pot of pasta and bottle of water. He looked over at his table. Whispers hissed in his ears, pointing fingers seeming to tangle his vision. It seemed like the hall had turned into a forest of thickets, buzzing with nosey bees and wasps, the odd butterfly telling them to be quiet as he passed, his head down as to avoid the thorns. He took another glance at his friends then at an empty table. He took the latter, wanting more than anything to be alone.  
He took a seat, placing down his lunch and starting to pick at the pasta with a plastic fork.  
"Hey, scrawny!" Came a bark.  
Link had other things on his mind, so he chose to pay no attention to Groose as he neared the table with his cronies. He had just seen a very peculiar looking boy. He was lurking in a corner of the hall, a black hood concealing his facial features, arms crossed and alone. The strange thing about him was that he wasn't staring at Link. He was staring at Vio.  
"OI! Are you listening?"  
Link peeled his gaze away from the strange boy to look at Groose, whose big, sloth-like eyes were focused on his prey.  
"So…" Groose smirked, "The reason that you're quiet is because you mum died, huh?" He said a bit too happily for Link's liking. In response, he just looked back down at his food and started to poke a piece of pasta around with his fork again, the dark part of him imagining it as Groose.  
"I'll take that for a yes, then. You know, I was wondering who could have done it." The red pompadour bounced as he put a finger on his chin in mock thought, "People are saying that it was that serial killer, Ganondorf. I disagree. My bet is that one of the old mad men in that village of yours killed 'er."  
Link's grip tightened on his fork.  
"Or, even better," Groose grinned stupidly, "From what I've heard, she was pretty much mad herself. Maybe she decided to kill herself before she hurt her poor little baby boy instead!"  
Link's eyes flashed. He unzipped his bag, pulled out the old cricket bat he'd stolen in their last games lesson and grabbed the bully's collar, dragging him onto the table and holding the bat to the back of his neck.  
"Why you little-" Groose threw him off easily, then held him up by the front of his school shirt so that his feet dangled.  
"Now that's not a pretty look." The thug chuckled as Link scowled deeply at him. The hall had fallen silent.  
A fist made contact with his stomach and Link groaned in pain, scrunching up his eyes, but quickly recovering his glare. Another blow to his nose, and he found blood dripping off his top lip onto his chin, then to the floor. Though he still kept the glare as the cowardly laughed.  
"Stop it!" Came a shriek and Link looked past Groose's thick head to see a girl with a long blonde pony-tail running towards them, hitching her bag further onto her shoulder, "Put him down, Groose!" Zelda snarled.  
"Zelda!" He laughed, dropping Link so that his legs gave way and he ended up on all fours, spitting the blood from his nose out of his mouth, "Aren't you looking pretty today!" Groose walked towards her and she shrunk away a little.  
Link panted as he looked up, hatred in his eyes. He reached for his bat.  
"Why didn't you reply to my text last night, darling?"  
"You know why!"  
"HYAH!"  
Groose gasped as he spun to see a flash of green. Link hit his arm with the bat, spluttering out, "L-leave her a-alone!" His voice was weak and timid from neglect of using it, but his eyes spoke of a different attitude.  
The bully staggered to one side, then rose a fist. Link blocked the blow with the bat and soon it had turned into a full-out fight. Link dodged around the opposition as it flailed his arms around, trying to land a punch, but Link was simply too fast for him. Until-  
"Oof!" One of the fists caught him in the ribs and he was sent flying into the opposite wall. He slipped down it, exhausted and winded. His eyes darted up to see a fuming Groose approaching, mashing his fists together. He rose one-  
"THAT'S MY BEST FRIEND, YOU BRUTE!"  
Groose yelled in shock as two arms were flung around his neck and he was forced to the floor, a heavy, hard back book swinging around and hitting him on the head.  
He got back up, seething, then gestured to his stunned friends to retreat.  
"AND DON'T YOU EVEN THINK OF COMING ANYWHERE NEAR HIM AGAIN!" Their vanquisher bellowed after them as the door swung shut.  
A clap. Then another. It escalated into a torrent of applause. It was what most had been waiting for.

Vio stood with his feet a little apart, a warning glare still written across his face and the book hanging at his side. That glare was soon gone, however. He started to laugh in disbelief.  
"I did it." He gasped, "I DID IT!" He jumped into the air punching up a fist in victory, "Take that, you blubbering idiot! HA HAA!"  
He was engulfed by his friends, all congratulating him in his triumph.  
"Wait! Link!" He pushed his way out of the crowd, over to where Link was laid against the wall, but stopped in his tracks, feeling his brother do the same behind him.  
Zelda was knelt in front of him.

"Thank you, Link." Zelda spoke to him softly.  
Link looked at her with a little smile on his face, the first smile he had cracked for a good week or two, "Nah, it's Vio who you should really be thanking. He got rid of 'em." His voice was thick and it felt like his nose was broken, but at the moment, he didn't really give a damn; Zelda was talking to him! Zelda!  
"But no one else was going to stop him from harassing me. You did." She smiled, taking a packet of tissues out of her blazer pocket and dabbing his nose with one, "That meant a lot."  
"It was nothing." He laughed nervously, "To be honest, I really wanted to kick him in the balls myself. Couldn't let you take the chance."  
They laughed. Zelda leant in and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you, hero." And she left him there to turn radish red on his own.


	5. Children's Fiction

Link had been admitted to hospital to get his nose bandaged up a good thirty minutes later, thanks to the slow school system.  
The bell rang and Vio walked out of English with Saria, Red, Green and Blue silently, looking at his feet and a hand supporting the bag strap on his shoulder.  
"You think Link'll be okay?" Red asked timidly. He had been depressed in that childish sort of way for the last few weeks.  
"He'll be fine!" Blue tutted, "This is Link!"  
"Yeah." Green nodded, "Remember that rugby game we played in year seven and he broke his leg? He kept on bloody well running! Honestly, it's as if he has multiple hearts or something."  
They all looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.  
"Ha!" Saria looked over at Vio, "That give you another idea for your book, Vi?"  
"I guess."  
The other four all looked at each other again, though their reaction was much different from the last. His tone had been downhearted, almost sickened.  
"Hey, Vio, you know he'll be fine!" Green patted his brother on the shoulder, "He's strong."  
Vio shook his head, "It's not that... Just... I'm trying to imagine how he must feel... Father in the army, hundreds of miles away from here... Mother dead... No home of his own... It's terrible... And it's all this Ganondorf's fault. If it wasn't for him, Link would still be his happy self... Why? Why would anyone do that?"  
"Come ooon!" Blue huffed, "Pull yourself together, bookworm! There's nothing you can do which can-"  
"Shut up, Blue!" Vio snapped.  
"What did you just say to me?!"  
Vio was staring into space, his eyes wide, "Ganondorf... I've heard that name before..."  
"Don't tell me to-" Blue was cut off as Saria held a hand in front of him to stop his jabbering.  
"He's on to something." Green muttered.  
"One of you come with me to the library!" Vio gasped, starting to run.  
"Wait! VIO!" Saria shook her head then followed, "You guys go home, I've got this!"

His feet hammered on the old stairs as he thundered up to the library and burst through the door.  
"Hey, Miss Maple!?" Vio puffed to the librarian.  
"Oh, hello, Vio!" She turned to him, her witchy-like looks standing out in the light from the windows as she smiled warmly.  
"Do you have anything on the Legend of Zelda?" Vio cut to it, desperate for a book to help him with his hypothesis.  
"Why yes I do! But why would a studious young fellow like you want a children's bedtime story?"  
"It's… Complicated… Where is it?"  
"It's through here."  
Once he had obtained the book, he sat down and flicked it open, just as Saria entered.  
Saria frowned as she approached her friend. Honestly, he was muttering to himself again!  
He turned the next page and yelled, "AH!", making Saria exert a little shocked 'peep'.  
"What is it?"  
"Here!" Vio ran a hand gently across the page and traced the lines of a picture – a triangle, the triangle Link had described from his dreams.  
"And?" Saria asked, her brow furrowed.  
"'Ganondorf…'" Vio started to mutter the story out loud, "'The evil king of darkness tried to obtain the triforce through force though in doing so ripped the divine power into three shards – power, wisdom and courage-" He turned the page, "The hero clad in green however rose once again and sealed the wrong-doer away in a timeless prison, to be trapped for evermore.' But there's more, there's always more!" Vio went to turn over the page only to discover that there was none to turn, "COME ON!"  
"Vio," Saria said, almost fearfully, "Vio, that's the end of the book… I know you like to read but-"  
"No! No, it's not the end!" He huffed, "Here! The paper fastened to the cover is peeling… If I could just-" With a loud rip, Vio had separated the paper from the cover and turned it over, his eyes darting around the page.  
"But… That's insane!" Saria gasped.  
"No… No not insane…" Vio muttered, "It's… It's the truth… The true legend… I knew there was more – the story can't just end all happily, no! No, because that's not how reality works…."  
On the page was a fading copy of a painting, a painting of a family tree.  
"This isn't just a family tree, look!" Vio leant in closer, pointing to a father and a son, "They have different last names… Oh…" He sighed, "It's not transfer of genes – it's a transfer of power! The triforce! And look-" He tapped a tiny picture of a blond haired boy, "That's Link – our Link."  
"But… but this is just a story! A kid's bedtime story!" Saria laughed nervously.  
There were a few moments of silence in which they looked at each other and the gaze which Saria received sent shivers down her spine.  
Vio blinked slowly and said in a low tone, "Then why was it in the history section?"


	6. Please

"So what does this mean?" Saria puffed as she ran alongside Vio to keep up with his long strides.  
He stopped abruptly in the middle of the path through the science buildings, running a hand through his hair and sighing, "It means that Ganondorf killing Link's mum was no coincidence. If he's already read this-" he held up the book he had checked out of the library, "-then he would have been targeting not Link but the people around him to… torment…" They looked at each other, dread settling in on their faces.  
"If he's targeting the people around him…" Saria breathed, "Then that means…"  
"We're on his list…"  
"But there's that girl in that story – I mean history book, whatever - she's called Zelda. Ganondorf traditionally stole her."  
"Yes… But for now we need to make sure that the others are safe."  
"But what if he-"  
"I don't care! I don't know her! But I know my family is in danger and I'd put them before a pretty girl any day!" He marched off again.  
"Oh." Saria followed, "So you wouldn't care if she was tortured or killed?"  
"Of course I would just not as much as if it was one of my family."  
"And what about me?"  
Vio remained silent for a moment, looking away from her as they exited the school grounds, "What about you?" He asked in false boldness.  
"You're the smartest student in our year, Vio, I think you'd be able to work out what I meant."  
They rounded a corner, onto the high-street.  
"Of-of course I'd care! What sort of a question is that?!" He laughed.  
"Fine." And with that, Saria stormed off, up her driveway and into her house with a slam of the door.  
Vio watched her go, a little puzzled as to what had offended her so. He raised his eyebrows, sighed, adjusted his bag strap on his shoulder and carried on.  
He slipped past a house and down a little lane through a park dotted with trees. Lost in his thoughts, his eyes glazed over, he walked down the path into a thicker part of the wood.  
A bush shook but Vio didn't stop, his eyes widening a little and his pace gaining speed. It was just a bird. It was fine. It's the middle of the day, nothing was going to happen.   
But as another bush shook violently and a shadow fell across his path, he knew he had underestimated this 'Ganondorf'. A figure shortly followed, stepping out and blocking the way.  
Vio stopped, his breath catching in his throat. He tried to speak but the words shredded before they reached his teeth. He tried to stop shaking, but his balled fists refused to stay still.  
After a few moments of looking the man over, Vio managed to regain his voice, "You've come for me, then?"  
A horrid, chilling laugh rose from the man's throat, "Foolish boy…" He growled, "Nosing around in areas which you shouldn't."  
"And why shouldn't I?" Vio growled, "Why shouldn't I find a way to help my best friend?"  
"It will get you killed."  
Vio gulped quietly and felt his head go a little light, "Will it? Well. Then that's a risk I'll have to take."  
"What a shame… You seemed such a spirited lad…"  
"Hey, bloodlust, we're in the present, so use the right tense!"  
"As you wish-" Ganondorf darted forwards and smacked palm against Vio's waist, "I stabbed you… and you're going to die… alone." He cackled again, wiggled the dagger slowly out - far, far too slowly, and disappeared back into the cover of the shadows.  
A book danced across the old dirt path and spun to a stop, blood speckles shining fresh on the cover. Then bounced a hand - twitching, loose, curling weakly around a bundle of leaves and dragging them back, fumbling to press them to the wide, deep hole missing from his side. He gasped and choked, the events and consequences only now catching up in his mind and coating his chest in cold, numb fear, just as his own blood did his hands.   
Just-just keep your eyes open. Okay. Okay. Keep thinking, keep-keep looking at things, yeah, yeah - the veins in the leaves, the bobbles of leather on the ruined book... but no amount of convincing could stop his eyes from growing blurry, his muscles shaking with the effort of keeping his head up. At the back of his mind - his racing, buzzing, empty mind, he instinctively knew that no vitals had been harmed, and if he managed to stop the bleeding, then he wouldn't die, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to move or even make a sound. Next to no one used this path. He wouldn't be found, at least before... before...   
Vio sighed, letting his red hands fall to the ground, leaves tumbling from the fresh wound. He pushed himself onto a shoulder, but didn't get much further, just rested his aching head on the muddy path and heard his eyelashes brush the dirt.   
His pulse slowed down. He could feel it. And oddly he felt nothing else - no pain, no horror, no regret. He was just... numb. What he did feel was a droplet of blood skate down his cheek and the vibration of the ground against his ear. It hurt. Were those the footfalls of Death, nearing with every step? Fine. He sighed again, this time with finality, and relaxed.    
  
"Oh dear Nayru."  
The footsteps quickened to a run and a hand slammed onto Vio's shoulder, shaking him back almost to full consciousness. His eyes opened slowly, his pupils rolling about drunkenly.  
"No, no, Vio! Vio, stay with me!"  
"Link…" Vio smiled drowsily, short on breath, "you're meant to be… meant to be… in… in hospital…"  
"Vio… No… Please, not you!" Link gasped, placing a hand over his friend's wound.  
"Ganondorf… he's killing… killing the people a-around you... Get them safe… out of the line of… of fire… please…"  
"You're not dying!" Link hissed, digging deep into his pockets and drawing out his phone. His thumb danced across the screen, shaking and pooling it in blood from Vio's wound.  
"Yes!" Link gasped down the phone, "Yes, I need the police and an ambulance! My friend – Ganondorf got him! He's been stabbed in the side but he's still alive! Please! Castleton! Faron park! Thank you!" He shoved the phone back in his pocket and looked back down at Vio, "Vio, it's okay, they're-" He stumbled to a stop as he observed his friend. He'd slipped consciousness.  
"No." He breathed, pressing two fingers against Vio's neck. No pulse. "No." He choked. "Vio, please. No." Something in his chest dropped. "Please." He grabbed him and pulled him close, resting his chin on his shoulder and mumbling, "Vio… Please…."


	7. The Potion

The paramedics where fast to respond to the call and Link was sat next to Vio's bed in the ambulance before he knew it. They had Vio on oxygen and had managed to get him breathing again, but now it was a test of speed, skill and a hell of a lot of luck.  
Link sat on the ambulance bench, staring at his friend with glassy eyes. So many thoughts were going through his head, it was as if he was in a room full of people, all chattering to each other and exchanging worried phrases, many which started with the dreaded "what if's".  
The noise was getting louder and louder and he was getting evermore impatient. His sat with his eyes shut, his trouser legs gripped in bundles in shaking hands. But then a voice shouted, a singular, distinguished voice,  
"SHUT UP!" Long and clear so that the other thoughts stopped buzzing, "He's not going to die! This time there's hope! This time there's time to set things right! HE'S NOT GOING TO DIE! HE'S NOT GOING TO DIE!" And that one thought was so hard in his beliefs that the other thoughts joined in, chanting, "HE'S NOT GOING TO DIE!" over and over and louder and louder until he as a whole started to mutter it aloud.  
Link leant over and placed a light hand on Vio's stomach, whispering, "You're not gonna die, Vio. Not now."

At the hospital, Vio had been rushed to the emergency ward and had been wired up. It had been quite the commotion - lots of shouting and running people in blue and white coats.  
The odd beep beep of the machine would keep Link awake. He had his head against the window and was drifting off to sleep. Now and again, he would flex his face muscles and feel the plasters over his nose stretch. The clean smell of the ward was oddly distorted through his broken nose. But he didn't care about that.  
Vio needn't have gotten involved with this whole Ganondorf business and yes, Link had read the book he had found next to his friend at the scene. It was Link's fault that Vio was close to death.

He felt a presence next to him and looked around to see Saria sat in the chair along. She was looking at Vio with sad eyes. "I should have stayed with him." Saria said quietly.  
Link turned away but listened, covering his face and keeping silent and still, too ashamed to react.  
"I shouted at him." She continued, "If I'd stayed with him-"  
"-then both of you would be lying in a hospital bed." Link finally spoke, "Don't blame yourself, Saria. It's not your fault he was stabbed by a lunatic."  
There was a silence, one which hung thick and suffocated them. But then-

"Link."  
"Yeah?"  
"The beeping."  
"Yeah?" There was another short silence as it dawned on him. There was a long, droning sound coming from the monitor. "No."  
Link leapt from the chair and to his friend's side, barking at Saria, "GET SOMEONE! QUICKLY!"  
As she ran frantically out, he placed both of his hands around Vio's neck, bending down and leaning his forehead against his, "Please, please, please, please, Vio, please, please, please, please, I don't know what to do, please, Vio, _please_."

Vio would know. If he was awake, Vio would know what to do. But Link didn't know what to do and his friend was dying. He was helpless and his friend was dying.

Saria burst back in, "I CAN'T FIND ANYONE!"  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND ANYONE?! WE'RE IN THE CITY HOSPITAL!" Link screeched. But what if… He lunged to his school bag and ripped the zip open, wrestling with the contents until he brought out a small phial of red liquid.  
"Link…" Saria breathed in a deep, fearful tone, "Sir said your red potion had failed. It won't save him!"  
"I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Link spat back, unstopping the tube and bringing it down to Vio's sagging lips.  
Saria flung her arms around one of his and clung onto it, pulling him backwards and screaming, "LINK, IT WON'T DO ANYTHING! IT COULD KILL HIM!"  
"HE'LL DIE IF I DON'T TRY ANYWAY!"  
"PLEASE DON'T!"  
"SARIA! LET GO OF ME!" He pushed her roughly away, poured the red gel into Vio's mouth and nudged up the jaw, hoping dearly that his studious friend would swallow it.  
Link staggered and fell back into his chair, the panic still at its peak inside his chest, his heart thumping like the drums at a loud concert.  
Saria had collapsed on her knees next to Vio's bed, clinging onto his limp hand and her face buried in the bed sheets. It hadn't worked. Oh goddesses it hadn't-  
A loud, raggedy breath was drawn and the hand shook before Vio settled and started to breathe again. The beeping danced back into action and so did Link.

He jumped up with a loud exclamation of victory and hugged Saria, who had done the same. They clung onto each other, laughing in absolute disbelief. This hug lasted for a good few relief filled moments until –  
"Link…"


	8. Chapter 8

Link and Saria looked down at Vio, who had started to feel where he had been stabbed just an hour before. "Link… It's… The wound's completely healed! How?!" Vio laughed slightly in awe and looked up at the two, beaming.  
"WOA!" Saria shrieked as both her and Link jumped back in shock.  
"VIO WHAT THE HELL?!" Link shouted.  
Vio looked at them both, confused, "What's wrong with you two? What's happened? What has the potion done?!" He had worked out what had happened very quickly, as per usual.  
"Vio…" Link gasped, taking a cautious step towards the patient, his eyes darting from one feature to the other, but always returning to the eyes, "Your eyes… They're red."  
"They're what?" Vio laughed, "Link, that's ridiculous! How can my eyes have changed colour? To _red_?"  
"Well," Saria raised her eyebrows, "take a look for yourself." She flipped a tiny hand mirror out of her blazer pocket and handed it to Vio, who raised it to his eyes.  
"No way." Vio gasped in monotone.  
"Oooh yes way." Link bit his bottom lip in guilt, still staring at Vio's eyes. Instead of the usual bright blue, his eyes were a deep blood red, almost glowing. It was kind of... demonic.  
"Well…" Vio gulped, snapping the lid down on the mirror, "I'm alive and that's all that matters. Thanks, Link."  
"Well," Link smirked, "I couldn't let you go bugger off to the afterlife without me, could I?"  
Vio laughed, "Guess not." He shuffled in the snowy white covers and said in a much more serious tone, "Link, there's something I need to tell you –"  
"-About the book?" Link grinned, though not out of happiness. More out of a comforting factor to calm Vio, "Yeah, I read it. Saw the family tree thing in the back." He nodded, "So… that story… you think it's true?"  
"No idea." Came the curt reply, "But this Ganondorf, if he really is a psychotic killer, would most likely be acting along the lines of that story."  
Link's eyes narrowed and Saria shifted next to him, placing a soft hand on his shoulder.  
"I know that look." She said with a slight sternness to her tone, "Link… Please don't say you're gonna do something stupid."  
Link looked her dead in the eyes, "I'm gonna do something incredibly stupid. By your standards, at least."  
"Link, please. Just let the police deal with it."  
"What good will they bloody well do?!" Link snarled, "They've been on this case for a good month now and nothing good has come of it! Maybe it's time I did something useful."  
"You'd be useful to not get in the way!" Saria huffed angrily, pulling on his arm then turning to her only hope, "Vio tell him! You know it's a bad idea, right?"  
Vio closed his eyes for a few calm moments, cutting off that slight glow. He then bit his lip as if he was going to deeply regret what would come next, "Sometimes defining a solid line between a bad decision and the only one to make is hard." Red beams shone through the slim gap between his eyelids, "What do you have in mind, Link?"  
Saria rolled her eyes heavily, stomped over to her bag, picked it up, shoved her face into it, and screamed a muffled, long suffering scream along the lines of, "BOYS I CANNOT DEAL WITH BOYS ANYMORE WHY CAN'T YOU IDIOTS JUST LISTEN FOR ONCE AAAH!"  
"Well…" Link had to raise his voice a little over the ceaseless banshee screaming, "If Ganondorf's following the story then we might as well too."  
"Yes, but how will you take him down when you finally meet him? I'm sure you won't kill him." Vio said almost dangerously.  
"No, not kill him. Just knock him out or hold him down somehow until the police arrive to arrest him."  
"And you'll find him how?"  
"As the story says. Gather my strength and wait for my path to take me to him."  
Vio smiled, "Nice."  
Link snatched the book up off the floor next to his own bag and flicked through it. "Strange though." He frowned as the pages flipped past, "I remember reading something. Huh…" His eyes widened and his hand slapped onto a page, his nails scraping across it in a scared and angry gesture.  
"What?" Vio asked quickly.  
Link looked slowly up at him, his face mimicking that of an enraged wolf, his voice then carrying on with the theme as he growled, "ZELDA!"


End file.
